A site for my handmade cards, accompanied by my photos and written meanderings which are occasionally witty, often tongue-in-cheek, and rarely profound. Beginning in June 2013, you'll also see lots of NBUS, which is an acronym I coined for Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Feel free to join in, use the acronym, and use up your NBUS too! Thanks for coming by! Have a beverage and enjoy!

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February 26, 2017

Happy Sun Day! It just occurred to me that clouds are only so deep, right? So that means that no matter where you are (unless it's night), even if it's cloudy and you can't see it, the sun is still shining above you!

We've had a busy few days with What Knot and Such and Such and you're in the middle of your weekend, so let's cut to the chase.Wait a sec. You prolly want to know where the expression "cut to the chase" comes from, doncha? Well, when the film industry switched from silent films to talkies, there was a lot of unnecessary dialogue and people got bored. When film directors saw this happening, they would yell, "Let's cut to the chase," whereupon the dialogue ceased and the action (such as a car chase) would begin!~~~A Glittery Butter Fly

A lot of you may recognize the card base as being from a note card set designed and sold by Concord & 9th. I thought they would come in handy for QACAS cards for my stash. For this thinking-of-you design, I used one of the Concord & 9th cards to die cut the Memory Box Darla and Vivienne butterflies. I liberally glossed and winked them. The NBUS sediment is from the Waltzingmouse set, "Say It Loud."

I wish you could see the schparkle and glitter on this card! The panel is an ancient paper that has speckles of glitter baked right into the paper. I have trouble using it. I usually take it out, fondle it, let Hammy rub his whiskery chin on it, and put it back. But no more hoarding, people! (That would be a funny sentence without the comma.)The chalet roof, window, window box, and flowers are from a NBUS MFT Die-namics "Home Sweet Home" die which also has house sides and doors. The glittery ric rac zig zag paper is from DCWV. I white heat-embossed the "New" from "Everyday Sentiments" by Happy Little Stampers. The fun NBUS "home" die is from Winnie & Walter.

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure to return the flavor!

*Life is too shortHow to open comment box:Click CTL + Home.Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post.Click page down to reach the end of the post.Click Comments and the pop-up box opens.Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel!Mwah!If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave meyour email address so I can respond. Thank you!

February 22, 2017

I have a quirky and quicky post for you today to share a coupla cards. I think you'll be able to relate to this first one!

My cards today combine very old stamps with NBUS. I have had that wee little rubber stamp stamp for 15 years. It is an unmarked stamp, but the shape of the wood makes me think it might be from Close To My Heart. The embossed stitched rectangle is a NBUS Die-Namics "LJD Peek-a-Boo Window" die. The paper, alphabet sticker, and heart stamp are all from my stash. The "ing" is from a vo Hero Arts alphabet stamp set.

My twofer is an OLC which was made for one of my sisters who recently moved into new digs of her own. I liked it so much that I made two more to send to friends who have also moved recently.

The NBUS stamps from this "Vogue Abode" stamp set by Paper Smooches date back to 2012. The "congratulations" is from "Whatnot Sentiments Four" by Your Next Stamp. I used a simple pop of coral color befitting the mid-century style (and to match a chair my sister has) and added lots and lots of score lines for interest. And just because they are fun and easy to do with my Scor-Buddy. I am linking this to the CASology challenge, "Score."

~~~

Thank you for your inquiries about our safety with the rains that are drenching and flooding much of California. We are fortunate to be fine, but there are many who could use your positive thoughts and prayers.

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy!LITS!*As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling:

Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post.Click Page Down to reach the end of the post.Click Comments and a pop-up box opens.Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel!Mwah!If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave meyour email address so I can respond. Thank you!

February 20, 2017

Greetings, Stamplings!Happy Monday! Welcome to the start of a fresh new week! When a new year begins, weeks stand tall and straight like dominoes and then they immediately start to fall, one by one, inexorably, involuntarily. They fall face down to cushion the fall of the next week, poised and ready in line, until all 52 of them are in a heap at your feet.Hammy wrote that. I found it stuck under one corner of his cage yesterday when I was cleaning. He is quite the dramaticist, isn't he?! But he's right you know, so grab this week, look it straight in the eye, and make the most of it before it falls! Well, of course, having discovered this new talent in my little rodent, I set about making him this card as a thank you for any future pearls of wisdom he may jot down:

The embossed background panel is from a Michael's Recollections pad called, "Embossed Neutrals." The corrugated cardboard paper was die cut from a NBUS MFT Die-namics die called, "3 x 4 Notepad." I then used a NBUS PTI "Bold and Beautiful" die and stamp for the inlaid sediment. The heavily winked pencil is from GKW. I have had it in my stash forever. I suspect I cut it out of a magazine and it's fun to finally use it on a card.

You might remember this "what was I thinking" hidden-word card I posted a few weeks ago:

You know, the one that looks like it says, "Sending Thugs!" I received many sympathetic comments from my faithful bloggie friends and, among them, was this comment from my friend Vicki:

"I probably would have die cut in black cs rather than attempting to stamp ... ."

Well, slap my forehead and call me a biscuit, why didn't I think of that?! This community is the BEST! I hadn't yet sent my goofy little hidden-word card off to anyone, so I did as Vicki suggested and just look at how glorious her idea turned out!

Thank you, Vicki!!

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy!LITS!*As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling:

Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post.Click Page Down to reach the end of the post.Click Comments and a pop-up box opens.Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel!Mwah!If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave meyour email address so I can respond. Thank you!

February 16, 2017

How's it going? Did you have a lovely Valentine's Day? I didn't make a single Valentine this year except the thank you heart card I posted on Monday. I ended up giving that to the Mister as his Valentine, cuz he takes such good care of me!

And now I think it's nice to have a short break from major holidays and just have fun with Hammy making birthday cards and all-the-other-occasions cards to build up my stash and use my NBUS.

Today I have a 4fer for you, but it's a bit of a cheat since it's the same focus pocus and design for three of them.

I played with someone's Concord & 9th "You Are Enough" stamp set at the Lake House in October and fell in love with it so I ordered my own set. The set has this simple, yet striking, flower that looks fabulous in any color and with any sediment.

You could use it to make a one-layer card or add a little embossing and matting as I did with these.

Speaking of flowers, look at this amazing view we see from the dining room table looking out at the Garden Art Wall. You can see how much those succulents have grown and with all the rain, the hardenbergia is spectacular this year!

On the other side of the wall to the right is the front yard where the hardenbergia is actually planted. About six feet from the fence is a crepe myrtle tree. Check out below how one vine of the hardenbergia reached up and over the six feet to the crepe myrtle and grew right up to the top of it!

And here are some sweet crocus bulbs blooming. I think they are crocus?

~~~

Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy!LITS!*As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling:

Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post.Click Page Down to reach the end of the post.Click Comments and a pop-up box opens.Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel!Mwah!If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave meyour email address so I can respond. Thank you!

February 13, 2017

Greetings!I'll get right to the recap of the NBUS (never-before-used schtuff) Challenges #8, #9, and #10. You ladies blew me away! The total number of entries for the three weeks was 606! I know, WOW, right?!I left comments on all but a few of the second and third entries, because after a while I was spending a lot of time proving I wasn't a robot and answering picture puzzles. (BTW, there were a couple of blogs that required I log-in, which I didn't understand and didn't do. I have enough log-ins and passwords! I hope this isn't something we have to start doing before we can leave comments on each other's blogs?)I have to say, it was such a pleasure seeing your enthusiasm for using your NBUS! It was also a ton of fun to see the cards of those of you who were able to join in my somewhat off-the-wall optional themes! And it's a great honor to have added three new Pinterest boards to showcase your cards for people from all over the world to be inspired by! You can find all TEN prior NBUS boards here.Of course, I had to make you a thank you card!

I used a NBUS stamp from Winnie & Walter called, "From the Bottom of My Heart." I prefer to say thank you from the heart of my bottom, cuz it is SO much bigger, but I love this sweet thank you heart with the traditional message carved right into it. I added vertical score lines and strips of colorful heart rick-rack Washi tape on each side to add more interest. A little heart bling for the final punctuation and thazit.

~~~

Okay, I'll stop pancaking so we can get to what you came for!! Even though I use Random Number Generator to chose the winners, I always get requests from folks who want to see the "winning" cards. I made these collages to show the RNG selection and the card entered at that number. Whoop!

Congratulations to all the winners! (If I have messed up your choice of prize, please feel free to let me know and I will fix it.) To see all prior winners, you can click here. I hope that ALL of you who participated feel like winners because you put to use some goodies that have been neglected! Well done, everyone!!

~~~NBUS #11 ANNOUNCEMENT!Normally, I hold my NBUS challenges in March and September each year. Because of the special celebration this year, I surprised you with a three-week, three-part NBUS party. Since it is (already!!) the middle of February, I'm sorry to say that I won't be up for another challenge the first of March.But I hate to have you wait all the way until September, so here's my plan:

You may remember that last year I ran a blooper April Fool's Day hop and my intent was to make it an annual event. It was a one-day linky party that let you link any card with a big fat boo boo. Obviously, being April Fool's Day, I was looking for the funniest bloopers![As an example, I made an Easter card last year with bunnies and I thought it was fine. It wasn't until after I took a photo of it that I realized two of the bunnies looked like they were gettin' busy! Bloops!]

I've decided that this year I willcombine my Second Annual April Fool's Day Hop with NBUS Challenge #11 and have it run for ten days from April 1 to April 11. Mark your calendars!

You will be able to enter any creation using NBUS, as always, but if you have any blooper photos, or if you happen to make a blooper card between now and then, take a photo of it before you bin it, cuz we want to see it!! In short, you will be able to enter:

a NBUS card with no bloopers;

a blooper card with no NBUS (yes, that's right!); and/or

a blooper card with NBUS.

If that made sense to you, then you have been a friend of this blog for a very long time and I've left word with the guard to give you access to me in the Loony Bin on Visitor's Day! 😇 Please remember to bring a radish for Hammy!Feel free to ask questions if that didn't make sense!~~~ Enjoy your day! Enjoy your Valentine's Day! No, seriously, enjoy!LITS!* If it isn't a great day for you, I hope you will find your own way to enjoy it!

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to join as a follower! Please let me know you came by so I can be sure and return the flavor!

*Life is too short!

To open the pop-up comment box that let's you jump to the end w/o scrolling:

Click CTL + Home. Click the Home tab under my blog banner which resets the post.Click Page Down to reach the end of the post.Click Comments and a pop-up box opens.Click "Jump to Comment Form" and wallah, no more car pool tunnel!Mwah!If you ask me a question in your comment, please remember to leave meyour email address so I can respond. Thank you!

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About Me

I have been stamping and making cards since 2002. I've been married 46 years to Kevin, known herein as "Mister." Our son Daniel and his wife Rachel have twin sons Henry and Adam. Card-making and blogging are wonderful hobbies which have brought me noodles of friends! Oh, and I have an imaginary hamster named Hammy who keeps me in line. Thank you for visiting, joining, and commenting! It will be my pleasure to return the flavor!!